Tag Archives: platforming

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Explore the Whimsical World of Ariana and the Elder Codex

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Ariana and the Elder Codex to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinion. This will be my honest review.

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Table of Contents

What is Ariana and the Elder Codex

Ariana and the Elder Codex is a cute Metroidvania coming to Steam on April 29th. In the meantime, go check out the demo and don’t forget to add the game to your wishlist! The game is out now on PlayStation and on the Nintendo Switch.

Hook

The world used to be filled with magic, but tragedy struck when the Seven Hero Codices were damaged and altered. Luckily, a group of librarians work tireless to repair the tomes and bring magic back to this world. While there are many skilled librarians undertaking this task, only one has the potential to save the world. Play as Ariana as she dives deep into the seven tomes, uncovers their secrets, and repairs them. Does she have what it takes to fix all seven tomes?

Gameplay

Play as Ariana as you jump into each unique codex and try to repair them. Each codex is a unique world based on one of the seven elements. Repairing each world allows Ariana to learn new magics. There are over 30 magic spells to learn and customize for a very unique playstyle.

Review

While the game has a few bugs that are a little hard to ignore, Ariana and the Elder Codex is a solid Metroidvania. The game features a creative and fantastical world full of flavor, a cool artstyle, and some solid mechanics. It is on the easier side as far as Metroidvanias go, but as a busy dad, I appreciate that it isn’t an impossible grind. All in all, if you like the art and want another metroidvania to master, check out Ariana and the Elder Codex.

Art

What first drew me to the game is the art style. The game has an undeniable adorable vibe. Each world is creative, brimming with flavor and the monsters are all very cool. I love the look of the animations, although they don’t always seem to work as intended. That might be a day one patch. The music is also fantastic and if you aren’t in love with the look of this game, you might fall in love with the story.

Story

The writing is a little awkward in places, but nothing that made it dreadful. All in all, it is solid fantasy with a proper execution. The idea of going into a world inside a book is not a unique idea, but one that makes a solid adventure game. I like how each of the codices has a unique story it tells, although some of the stories are better than others. They do tend to be the same kind of sad story, but overall I found them to be a good enough read to power through them. There is also some fantastic voice acting to break up some of the reading which I thoroughly appreciate.

Difficulty

As far as Metroidvania games go, Ariana and the Elder Codex is on the easier side. I played the game on Normal and still felt like it could be harder. There is a harder difficulty that you can change at anytime during your playthrough. I might also just be getting better at the genre in general. I don’t think the difficulty is an issue. As someone who no longer has enough time to game, I appreciate when a game is hard enough to keep me engaged but not so hard that it becomes a grind. Sometimes I just want to just get through the story without getting frustraited from the challenge. There is a story mode if you just want to sit back and enjoy the ride, but I think Normal is a solid place to start. You can always adjust it after.

Gameplay

Ariana and the Elder Codex is a fun Metroidvania full of whimsy, humor, and some solid animations. The game does get a little repetative in parts, but I think that is teh nature of the genre. The monsters were cool, the worlds were fun to explore, and it features some managable platforming. This is coming from someone who isn’t good at platforming. The boss fights are so much fun and I am amazed at how creative the devs get with each boss. They are full of flavor and have interesting mechanics. My only issue with the game is with the performance.

Performance

The game is currently in a good place, but it could use a few tweaks to make it perfect. There are a few bugs that were hard to ignore throughout my playthrough because they affect gameplay. Sometimes the game stutters and frames drop. For the most part, these drops are harmless, but I did die twice. There are also fake edges that don’t end where they appear. This issue is a lot more random, but it happened enough that I took notice. None of these bugs are gamebreaking, but they are issues that will make things like speedrunning a little annoying. That said, a couple patches and this game is perfect.

Conclusion

Ariana and the Elder Codex is a cute little metroidvania for a more casual gamer. It has fun mechanics, a cute world aesthetic, and some solid fantasy. It may not be my favorite, but it does enough good to be worth checking out once. If you are looking for a new action platformer to pad out your collection, or something that runs fine on the Steam deck, check out Ariana and the Elder Codex.

Ariana and the Elder Codex comes to Steam on April 29th, 2026, but you can pick it up on PlayStation and on the Nintendo Switch. If you want to play a move unique kind of metroidvania, check out Worldless.Or my personal favorite, Dragon is Dead.

Trailer

video game reviews

Onirism Review: A Whimsical Action Adventure

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I was sent a free copy of Onirism to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my content, please share this with your friends and check out the free ways you can support me, like using my Amazon affiliate link before you buy anything. It really helps me out if you do.

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What is Onirism

Onirism is a is an adorable action RPG out now on Steam.

Story

Bunbun has been stolen, and Carol will do anything in her power to get her stuffed rabbit back. Armed with the worlds most unique and powerful weapons, Carol will fight her way through endless waves of enemies to get her bunny back. Jump through the different zones, master the different genres, and get back what’s yours. How long before Carol and Bunbun can be reuinited?

Gameplay Loop

Onirism is a fast paced action adventure game. Carol travels across an open world, fighting off monsters, and collecting different weapons and abilities to help her on her journey. Combat in this game is a third person shooter, where players have access to a vast arsenal of weapons to choose from. Each gun feels different and changes the combat enough to keep things fresh and exciting. Enemies are all fun and unique, providing enough of a challenge to keep players on their toes. Remember, the game does not save automatically. Players will need to find save points to heal Carol and save their progress. Dying before hitting one of these zones will reset the game to the last save on file. Plan accordingly.

Review

Onirism is a cute and fun game with a lot of spirit, but it is not finished. Although there have been daily updates since I’ve downloaded the game, there is is some noticeable roughness. Sometimes the game will break, other times times you will lose a lot of frames. When the game works well, the game is as addicting as it is adorable.

Aesthetics

The game is a flavorful adventure through childish wonder and whimsy. Each zone is unique with a lot of content to explore. The monsters are cute and creative, with frightening bosses controlling them. The artstyle only adds to the stories playful and silly tone in a way that makes the game incredibly wholesome. It is the game’s art and tone that drew me to the game, but it is the gameplay that does it for me.

Gameplay

When the game works, it is a lot of fun. Combat is fast paced and exciting, the boss fights are creative, and the jumping puzzles are manageable. There is also a good amount of exploration to be done. The problem is the game doesn’t feel finished. There are a lot of bugs and noticeable performance issues that do take away from the immersion. Frames will drop, there is a bit of stuttering, and the game crashed once or twice during my playthrough.

Although there is controller support, the tutorial is only for keyboard and mouse. The game isn’t really optimized for controller at this stage of development. You might have to do a bit of tweaking, but aiming feels bad compared to keyboard and mouse. If you are playing with keyboard and mouse, you might need to do some remapping. On my playthrough, left was mapped to the wrong key by default. It is an easy fix, but it means the game isn’t ready to play out of the box.

While Onirism does feel unfinished, there have been daily patches since I’ve downloaded the game. The devs are hard at work on a game they are clearly passionate about. While the game will need a couple of updates before it can be in a good position, I at least have some confidence that they are working on it.

Conclusion

Onirism is a cute adventure game, and I loved every minute of it. Now keep in mind the game is not finished yet. The roughness is the biggest factor of whether or not you buy this game. If you don’t mind the immersion breaking bugs and performance issues, the game has enough substance and heart to keep you engaged. There is a lot of content to explore, and a lot of interesting ideas to keep the game interesting. But if the roughness is going to be a problem, I would wait for a couple of patches. This might be a very ambitious game, and the devs clearly need more time and support. I loved it, but it can definitely be better.

You can pick up Onirism on Steam. If you are in the market for another janky action adventure game, check out Star Overdrive.

video game reviews

Awaken: Astral Blade is the best Metroidvania of the Year

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I was sent a free copy of Awaken: Astral Blade to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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What is Awaken: Astral Blade?

Awaken: Astral Blade is a beautiful Metroidvania out now on Steam and PS5.

Tania is a bionic girl sent to rescue a missing investigation team deep in the rainforest of the Horace Islands. This won’t be an easy task. A strange energy seems to be warping the wildlife, mutating it into aggressive, blood-thirsty mutations. Using her various abilities and any upgrades she earns along the way, Tania must fight her way through this hostile forest and find the truth behind the disappearance. What will she uncover?

Gameplay

Awaken: Astral Blade is an incredibly stylized Metroidvania. Players must fight through a dungeon, moving from save point to save point. Players will unlock and find new upgrades for Tania’s mobilities and attacks. The skill tree, upgrades, and customization are vast enough for players to find a build that works with their playstyle. While I am sure there is a correct way to build Tania, I found something that made the game fun for me.

Players will fight through monsters with creative flavor and readable attacks. Occasionally, a giant snake will chase Tania to create some intense platforming. Eventually, Tania will fight the various creative bosses scattered throughout the dungeon. These fights are tough, but leave a rewarding feeling after completion.

Does it work on the Steam Deck?

Awaken: Astral Blade is a fantastic Steam Deck game. Everything is visible at the native aspect ration, the native control scheme is comfortable, and the game is responsive without any tinkering. These types of games to play on the go, but I enjoyed being able to fight my way through the forest while sitting on my couch. While there is nothing wrong with the PC experience, I preferred playing this game on the Steam Deck.

Review

I’ve been on my Metroidvania kick lately, and Awaken: Astral Blade is my favorite. The game looks amazing with a solid story and flavor to keep things interesting. Most importantly, the mechanics are tight and responsive. Nothing is worse than playing an unfinished Metroidvania where poor coding kills you more than a lack of skill. I am happy to say that every time I died in Awaken, it was because I wasn’t good enough.

As far as skill level goes, it is adjustable but normally offers enough of a challenge to keep things interesting. I am speaking of course as a filthy casual, but the difficulty can always be adjusted. I particularly enjoyed the creative boss fights and how rewarding it felt when I finally beat them. None of the big fights felt like a slog because I was always busy trying to memorize actions and master the required mechanics.

Awaken: Astral Blade is a fantastic entry into the Metroidvania genre. Whether you’re trying to find a good place to start or looking for a new title to add to your collection, you can’t go wrong with Awaken.

You can pick up Awaken: Astral Blade on Steam for $19.99 and $24.99 on PS5. There is also a Steam Demo if you don’t believe me.

video game reviews

Game Review: The Company Man

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All images are screenshots from the game

I do want to mention that I got sent this game as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let this influence my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.

The Company Man is a 2D action platformer. It is available on the Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox, and PC. I played this game on the switch and enjoyed it both handheld and docked mode.

Take control of Jim as he climbs the corporate ladder to become the CEO. The path to the top isn’t easy as it is full of jealous coworkers, insane managers, and a lot of platforming. Will you have the stamina to make it to the top, or will you be another corporate slave?

I love the art of this game. The office theming is brilliant; you can tell that the creators got very creative with the enemy design. Each floor is themed after a different department and filled with monsters that play well off the theme. There is a story, but it acts more as a comedy than something you need to get invested with. This game pokes a lot of fun at the office work culture, and I was there for every second of it. 

The gameplay is simple. You have a keyboard that acts as a melee weapon, and you get a ranged attack that gets upgraded after each promotion. Jim has a set life and ammo that you can replenish and upgrade as you play. You move through each floor, avoiding traps, fighting monsters, and platforming until you fight the floor’s manager. Enemies drop coins that you can use to upgrade your stats and gain abilities. If you die, you restart at your last checkpoint, but you get to keep any coins you’ve collected. Upgrades are well-balanced; I never felt like the game got too easy with them.

 I’ll admit, I hate this genre the most. I am too impatient and am easily frustrated by these kinds of games. This is the only platformer I have ever finished. I’ll admit, I play all the games I review to completion, but I would have finished this game regardless. I played it in normal mode. Normal mode was very manageable for my skillset while still offering enough difficulty to keep me engaged. This was not a cakewalk. I did struggle, and I did get frustrated, but it was very satisfying when I earned my promotion. Veterans of the genre might find normal mode too easy, but there is a hard mode available at the start that might help with your enjoyment.

One tip I have for those who are looking to buy this game is to pay attention to everything. Monsters, traps, and boss fights all have 

a set pattern that they follow. If you can memorize these patterns, you can beat everything.

I highly recommend this game, especially if you enjoy platformers. You can get it on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam.